Milan

Milan (1045-1395) was a city-state in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, at one point encompassing Lombardy, Genoa, and Tuscany in the northern Italian Peninsula, Sardinia and Corsica (off the coast of Italy), Switzerland, the Burgundy region of eastern France, and northern Egypt. It was a fervent Catholic and Guelph state, fighting for the Papal States against the influence of the Holy Roman Empire.

Expansion
Milan was a city of both possibility and problems. The Archbishopric of Milan was until 1045 the most powerful political figure in Northern Italy, with the city well and truly under their thumbs. Though still Catholic, the Milanese were breaking free from the control of the church to form a mighty, expanding municipality by 1080. The Milanese were surrounded by possible allies and enemies. The Alps provided Milan with a natural barrier to the north that ensured the city is relatively safe from Swabia and the Holy Roman Empire - If the Milanese could hold the mountain passes, they could hold off Northern Europe. While the mountains fenced Milan off from the world, Genoa served as the coastal gateway to the Mediterranean and beyond. Though better positioned to expand into the rest of Europe than the other Italian peoples, the Milanese were also the most likely to have to confront the Northern European powers first, and had to consolidate their position swiftly by working their way into the nearby provinces that the French and Germanic forces had not secured yet.

Duke Giorgio de Rossi was the leader of a powerful infant state that made a promising future empire possible through land and sea defenses. The House of Rossi expanded their lands against the rebel settlements around them, namely Florence, Burgundy, and the Canton of Bern. In 1084, Count Bernardo de Rossi captured Ajaccio in Corsica and secured a new trade route for Milan. However, that same year, Cristoforo de Rossi failed to capture the city of Bern from the Swabians to the north in the Alps, and in 1086 Duke Giorgio failed to subdue the rebellious Florentines. Despite these failures, in 1088, Bernardo conquered the island of Sardinia and opened up the port to Corsica and Genoa in order to spread the resources coming from the islands.

In 1090, Bern was again attacked, but without success and in 1092, Florence defended itself against Milan once more. Unfortunately, in 1096 Bernardo was killed when a Sicilian army landed in Sardinia and took over Cagliari, and war broke out between Milan and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. In 1098 Giorgio finally captured Florence from the Italian rebels and added Tuscany to his realm, and Count Cristoforo secured control of Bern at long last. Four years later, Cristoforo invaded Burgundy and conquered Dijon from the rebels, adding more lands to Milan.

Milan scored a diplomatic goal by marrying into the House of Comnenus in 1120, securing a marriage of Anna of the Byzantine Empire to Catelano Rossi, the heir apparent to the new Duke, Cristoforo. Four years later, the Milanese took part in a crusade against Cairo led by Puccio Rossi, whose Milanese troops secured Alexandria and Cairo before the fellow Hungarian crusaders (who traveled overland through Asia Minor) could reach past the Turkish castle of Iconium on their descent south.

Guelphs and Ghibellines
In 1159, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire decided to reinstate Holy Roman rule over the states of northern Italy's Lombardy region. Barbarossa and his army sacked Crema with the aid of Cremona, and in 1162, Milan suffered a similar fate. The city was captured and its populace exterminated, scaring Pope Alexander III into forming the Lombard League against the Emperor. The war turned out to be a Lombard League victory at the 1176 Battle of Legnano after a series of defeats for the Papal States and the Italians, and Milan regained its power. Milan allied with the Papal States and their allies against the Holy Roman Empire as a "Guelph" (taking its name from the Bavarian House of Welf) city-state, and from 1159 to 1529, they opposed the faction of the Holy Roman Emperors.

State to Duchy
In 1395, the ruling House of Visconti of Milan purchased the titles of Dukes of Milan for 100,000 florins from Bohemia, and the municipality of Milan was transformed into the Duchy of Milan, making the city-state a united state.